


The Return of a Song 2.0

by elirwen



Series: The Return of a Song [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Modern Era, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-25
Updated: 2012-04-25
Packaged: 2017-11-04 07:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/391346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elirwen/pseuds/elirwen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been twenty years since Arthur's return and Merlin still hadn't found the courage to find him. But nothing can stop destiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Return of a Song 2.0

**Author's Note:**

> It all started with my laptop breaking down after I'd finished my merlin games entry. And of course I hadn't made any backup. So, I wrote the fic again from memory.  
> This week, I finally bought myself a box for my hard disc, and now I decided to post both versions.

It had been twenty years.

Twenty years from the moment Merlin's magic had started singing.

Again.

~x~

Merlin liked libraries. He liked the calm, the quiet, the smell of paper, the hushed talking, the shuffling of the chairs.

He'd read so many books in his life, many of them long forgotten or lost, but he still came back for more. As he touched the paper, caressed the covers and skimmed through the pages, he could feel echoes of the past readers. The calm wisdom of the older minds, wild energy of youth, soft fluttering of fresh love or heavy weight of grief.

He often returned to the Arthurian legends even if the authors had never gotten the story right. It still made him feel more real, alive, closer to home.

He touched the spine of the old looking volume right in front of him and gasped in surprise. He didn't feel any of the usual traces of the enthusiastic history student or the displeasure of the ones forced to read the text just to secure a good grade.  
No, all he could feel was Arthur. 

Arthur.

Arthur, whose presence he ignored for all of the twenty years, scared that Arthur would be different, that he would never remember, never love Merlin again. 

And here was Arthur’s trace, same as ever, strong and confident. 

He dragged his fingers over more volumes and most of them were conveying the same. Arthur had been here, and not only once. He had been coming here for a few days already.

Merlin stumbled back from the shelves, sitting in the closest chair heavily, earning a glare from the girl sitting across the desk. 

'Get out of here,' a part of his being was screaming at him while the other part was convincing him to stay.

In the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation. He crossed the hall, sitting in the furthest corner, the long lines of tables creating a barrier in between him and the scent of the man he missed for hundreds of years. 

And then he waited.

~x~

Almost three hours later, he felt Arthur enter. It was as if something shifted in the air and Merlin fought the hope that threatened to overwhelm him.

Arthur looked exactly the same as the first day they met all those centuries ago, like if nothing had happened and it all had been a horrible nightmare. He pulled a heavy volume from the shelf and settled in the closest chair.

~x~

Two hours later, Arthur was going through his fifth book. Each time he took a fresh volume, he chose a different chair, each time closer to where Merlin was.

~x~

Seventh book and Arthur sat across the table from Merlin who stared helplessly at the cookbook in front of him, not in the least interested in the recipes.

Arthur turned a page and Merlin chanced a glance up at him and found Arthur looking right back at him. Their eyes locked and Merlin felt trapped in the depth of the familiar blue.

"Merlin," he more saw than heard Arthur saying. 

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered.

“Merlin,” Arthur repeated, reaching for Merlin’s hand. “You waited,” he whispered, deep emotion clear in his eyes.

Merlin’s magic reacted on instinct, stopping time, as Merlin scrambled over the table and onto Arthur’s lap, pressing his lips to Arthur’s in a desperate kiss.

“I thought I was going mad,” Arthur murmured when Merlin released his lips, pressing his face into Arthur’s shoulder and just breathing him in, the tears of happiness soaking the fabric.

“I should have come looking for you, but I was so scared you’d be different. I’m sorry,” Merlin said, playing with the hair on Arthur’s nape.

“Hush now. We’re together and that’s all that matters,” Arthur said and pressed a quick kiss to Merlin’s hair.

“Hold on tight,” Merlin said, straightening on Arthur’s lap.

With a flash of gold in Merlin’s eyes, a sudden gust of wind swirled around them and then they were gone.

The time started flowing again and the only signs of their previous presence were two abandoned books lying open on the polished wood and a sudden feeling of joy that run through every single person in the building.

The new era had begun.

**Author's Note:**

> Also on [my lj](http://elirwen.livejournal.com/38017.html).
> 
> If you read both versions, I'd be more than happy if you filled in [this short poll](http://www.livejournal.com/poll/?id=1836179) on my lj. Thank you, :)


End file.
